Pierzynski Says He's Ready

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A.J. Pierzynski, in his brief time with the Texas Rangers, has shown himself to be quite the gamer.

No, he's not an expert at Call of Duty or Adventures of Zelda (nice call-back) but he is the "pro's pro," so to say. That was proven last week when he was placed on the disabled list and then responded by saying how mad he was at himself for getting hurt — just the second DL stint in his MLB career that has spanned two decades.

Now, Pierzynski is giving himself a clean bill of health, saying he's felt no pain in his strained oblique and has hit soft toss for the past couple of days with plans of taking live batting practice at Rangers Ballpark on Thursday and Friday when the Detroit Tigers come to town before going on a two-game minor-league rehab in Frisco on Saturday and Sunday. He's eligible to rejoin the Rangers on Tuesday, 15 days after going on the DL.

Pierzynski told the Star-Telegram that he is still frustrated he had to go on the disabled list in the first place, as he felt he would be healthy before the 15 days was up, which has ended up being true. But he also said he understands the position the Rangers were in, needing a second catcher to give Geovany Soto some breathers while Pierzynski was on the mend.

“They also knew that if I didn’t go on the DL, I’d keep going out there,” Pierzynski said, in true gamer fashion. “I’m ready to go. The trainers did a great job of getting it.”

You can bank on Pierzynski being in the lineup against the Oakland A's at Rangers Ballpark on Tuesday.